Just about everyone has played an instant lottery ticket at one time or another. The excitement of finding out whether or not you have a winning ticket is a pleasure enjoyed by many. However, such a hobby does come with a few drawbacks. It is often times difficult to locate an object that can be used to remove the scratch-off coating off of the ticket. Typically nearby objects are used as makeshift scrapers, such as fingernails, coins, or writing instruments. However, these objects do an incomplete job and have a tendency to damage the ticket. It is also hard to find a suitable surface upon which to place the ticket while it is being scratched. Hands or seat cushions do not form a firm stable surface and bars and countertops can be wet or dirty and as such may lead to ticket damage and possible ticket invalidation. Additionally, the ticket shavings often soil clothing and floors as they fall off. Finally, scratching off the tickets takes time and many people are just too excited to wait any longer than is necessary and others have physical impairments which may make manual scratching off of the coating difficult or impossible.
Various scraping devices for use with lottery scratch-off tickets are known, each attempting to provide solutions to these problems and disadvantages. These devices vary in function and use, examples of which can be seen by reference to several U.S. Patents. One (1) solution includes improved handheld scrapers as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,441, issued in the name of Salvini, which discloses a lottery ticket scraper and brush device.
Other solutions provide manual scraper devices such as those seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,693, issued in the name of Diba et al., which discloses a scraper carrying case container for lottery tickets including a carrier which holds a manual scraper for the removal of the scratch-off coating layer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,061, issued in the name of Rizzo, Jr., discloses a ticket scraper having an edged scraper element which removes the coating layer as the ticket passes through a slot and a manual pressure is applied to the ticket surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,720, issued in the name of Shultz, discloses a lottery ticket tray including a smooth ticket support surface and a removable drawer which collects the ticket scrapings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,287, issued in the name of Olson, discloses a lottery ticket scraper having a housing with a spring loaded scraper blade which forcibly engages the ticket surface as the ticket passed through the device.
Other devices attempt to provide an automatic means of removal of the coating as can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,543, issued in the name of Cameron et al., which discloses a lottery card scraper apparatus including a housing with a motor driven internal helical blade arranged to remove the coating as the ticket passes through the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,549, issued in the name of Forrest, discloses a coin operated ticket scraper having a motor driven scraping brush for removal of the coating. U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,882, issued in the name of Tyree, describes a lottery ticket scratch off device including a housing with an internal roller and scratching brush which are driven by a motor and a gear train which removes the coating as the ticket passed through the housing.
While these devices may accomplish their specific intended purpose, each suffers from one (1) or more disadvantage or deficiency with respect to design, function, or effectiveness. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which instant lottery players can enjoy the game without the disadvantages described. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.